Page 1009

The Capital city is truly extraordinary, the grandeur of its city gates alone is countless times more impressive than those of Zhuma Town.

Among the group, aside from Xia Zheng and Lin Yi, it was everyone else’s first time in the Capital city, and they were naturally both excited and fascinated.

Xiao Linshuang couldn’t wait to lift the curtain, unfazed by the cold, and exclaimed excitedly, "Wow, the Capital city! We’ve finally arrived at the Capital city!"

Lin Wei and Xiao He also reached out their heads together, their faces filled with curiosity and excitement.

Only Lao Fan kept a straight face, arms crossed over his chest, without even lifting his eyelids, he huffed, "What’s so good about the Capital city? It’s just a giant birdcage! No way, I want to go back to Zhuma Town, let me go back!"

Saying this, Lao Fan wailed loudly, but the others, busy marveling at the city gates, did not take his complaint to heart. There was no helping it; he had said this more than once or twice on the journey here, and everyone had gone from initially comforting him to now completely ignoring him.

Lin Yuan smiled and shook her head, poking Xia Zheng’s arm, "Didn’t you say he snuck out on his own? Is it really okay to trick him into coming back like this?"

Xia Zheng curled his lip, "Him? He only left to avoid trouble, didn’t he?

Humph, besides, even if someone still remembered what happened back then, they can’t just cause him trouble willy-nilly.

Those two in the palace wouldn’t dare to blatantly come after him!

And if they did come looking, wouldn’t that just be admitting to their own mistakes? "

Lin Yuan nodded in understanding. On their way to the Capital city, Xia Zheng had already told her about the incident between Lao Fan and Consort Liu, which was no more than Consort Liu feeling threatened when Consort Tian gave birth to the Sixth Prince, intending to harm him but Lao Fan discovered the plot in time and saved the Sixth Prince.

Of course, there was another more serious matter. It was rumored that when Consort Shu was giving birth to Second Prince Zhao Hongde, she encountered danger. Although there was no conclusive evidence, Consort Liu and her maternal family, who already had the Second Prince, were the prime suspects.

Consort Shu was Xia Zheng’s maternal aunt and a close confidante of Consort Tian in her boudoir days. Had Consort Shu given birth to a prince, with the Xia family backing her, she would naturally threaten Consort Liu’s position, so it was no wonder Consort Liu felt threatened.

As they were speaking, Xia Zheng suddenly paused, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Curious, Lin Yuan followed his gaze and saw a man and a woman walking side by side in their direction.

The man was tall and imposing, with broad shoulders. It was only when he drew closer that Lin Yuan realized he looked familiar - those thick eyebrows, the high nose bridge, and his mouth, all were just like an enlarged version of Xia Zheng!

Looking at Xia Zheng’s nonchalant demeanor, Lin Yuan had an epiphany, that must be Xia Zheng’s elder brother, Xia Zhen!

Upon seeing his younger brother, Xia Zhen maintained an expressionless face, but his darting eyes gave away his true nature, roving restlessly over the several carriages. Despite his outwardly dignified appearance, he was just as mischievous as Xia Zheng on the inside.

The petite lady beside Xia Zhen was none other than his fiancée Tian Hui. Petite might be an understatement; she was actually half a head taller than Lin Yuan, but she looked meek beside Xia Zhen.

Tian Hui was dressed in the latest trending fashion, the satin on her body being the newest fabric from the Imperial Merchant, the Wu family of Jiangnan. Its material was smooth with a lustrous, rippled sheen, resembling a flowing stream when sunlight shone upon it.

Tian Hui embodied the typical well-bred lady, gentle and graceful, her beautiful eyes shyly and timidly looking at Xia Zhen beside her.

And although she walked shoulder to shoulder with Xia Zhen, the observant would notice that Tian Hui’s steps were half a beat slower than his, causing Lin Yuan to inwardly marvel at the ever-present virtues of a wife following her husband’s lead.

With both the elder brother and sister-in-law coming out to the city gates to welcome them, it was only proper that Lin Yuan’s family could no longer just sit in the carriage.

Xiao Yongyan was still young, and fearing he would catch a cold, Lady Liu did not get down from the carriage, though she did lift the curtain to nod a greeting to Xia Zhen and his company.

Despite Xia Zhen’s stern expression, he was extremely polite, bowing to Lin Jiaxin and his wife with a fist and palm salute, then spoke in a clear voice, "Uncle Lin, Auntie Lin, you must have had a weary journey."

Lin Jiaxin responded with a smile and was soon ushered back into the carriage by Xia Zhen. His leg might have healed, but it still gave him discomfort in windy or rainy weather, so the family tried to keep him from the cold as much as possible.

Seeing his elder brother, Xia Zheng lacked the enthusiasm one might expect, he scowled dismissively, "Why are you here? Where’s Mother?"